Thomas Byrne

Thomas Byrne (born 1 June 1977) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician and solicitor who was appointed Minister of State at the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media in December 2022. He previously served as Minister of State for European Affairs from July 2020 to December 2022. He has served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Meath East from 2007 to 2011, and subsequently since 2016, during which period he held the position of Dáil Éireann opposition front bench spokesperson for Education and Skills. From 2011 to 2016, he was elected as a senator for the Cultural and Educational Panel, and worked as Seanad Éireann opposition front bench spokesperson for both Public Expenditure and Reform and Health, respectively. Early life Born on 1 June 1977 in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, Byrne is the eldest of seven children. He is the son of Thomas "Tommy" Byrne Snr (1945–2019), former Drogheda borough councillor, auctioneer and player-manager of Drogheda United F.C. and Kathleen (née Hilliard) Byrne. Byrne's younger brother, James Byrne, is currently a Fianna Fáil county councillor in Drogheda, County Louth. Other notable family relations include former Fianna Fáil TDs for Meath, Colm Hilliard (1936–2002), and his father Michael Hilliard (1903–1982), who served as Minister for Posts and Telegraphs, Minister for Defence and as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP). Byrne was educated in Scoil Aonghusa national school and then Saint Mary's Diocesan School in Drogheda. Following graduation from Saint Mary's, Byrne attended university at Trinity College Dublin (TCD), where he gained an undergraduate degree in Law (LL.B.). Following his graduation, Byrne enrolled in the Law Society of Ireland. Byrne worked as a solicitor at Feran & Co. law firm in Drogheda until his selection as a Fianna Fáil 2007 Irish general election candidate for the newly established constituency of Meath East. Though it was his first campaign for public office, Byrne was elected to Dáil Éireann with 7,834 first preference votes, making him the youngest member of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party at the time.